Legalities
by kate tidly
Summary: Are Booth and Brennan partners in more than one sense of the word? And what happens when one of them wants a divorce? Can this misunderstanding ever be understood? BB
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long period of absence but things like summer holidays and rowing got in the way. Now that I'm back at uni and rowing is finished for a few months I should have more time to get some writing done. I'm bravely (or stupidly, depending on how you look at it) starting a new multi-chapter story. Updates will probably be weekly(ish). This one is a lil different to Office Entertainment but hopefully a new take on an old idea. Hope you enjoy it.**

"We need to talk," she had said.

The words had a ring of finality to them, and as he snapped his cell phone shut, they brought on a sense of déjà vu that turned his stomach into a seething pit of nerves. They reconvened in her office at four that afternoon. He sat down without being asked, knowing that there would be no formalities during this particular meeting.

"I want a divorce." She got straight to the point.

He was momentarily stunned then recovered to reply coolly, "well you have been neglecting your marital vows for the past 14 years anyway."

"So this won't make much of a change then, will it? She asked angrily. She grabbed a file from her desk and thrust it at him. "I've had my lawyer draw the papers up. Since we have no children and own no property together, all you have to do is sign." She offered him a pen which he ignored.

"Why?" His simple question caused her to falter.

"Because…" she trailed off, and then recovered. "I might want to marry someone else some day."

"Like that's ever gonna happen," he scoffed. "You've made your thoughts on marriage perfectly." "No," he continued, "you can't have a divorce. Not until you have a real reason for wanting one."

"Well how about this for a reason," she shot back, eyes blazing, cheeks flushed, "I don't love you. I never loved you."

He swallowed. "Now that's a crock of shit."

The flicker in her eye betrayed her.

"You're a bastard Seeley."

"Right back at'cha, Temperance."

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Outside the door, Angela, Hodgins and Zach gapped at each other, totally speechless.

"Well, I wonder what other secrets those two are hiding." Jack broke the silence.

Zach just shook his head and wandered back to the platform, muttering something about the enigma of the human condition. Like Bones, he would immerse himself in work while he wondered how his boss and role model had managed to keep them all in the dark. Angela was still thunderstruck; her mouth opening and closing in shock in such a way that she had turned herself into a Nemo look alike.

"C'mon babe," Hodgins voice broke into her convoluted thoughts. "Let's disappear before they catch us with our ears pressed to the door."

Angela could only nod.

A moment later, she had collapsed at her desk, forehead resting on her arms as she sobbed her heart out. Hodgins, kneeing beside her, could only place his arms around her and hold her close. He knew that she was deeply hurt that her best friend had kept such an important part of herself hidden for all these years. Plus, he reflected a little wryly, there was the fact that her role as matchmaker on the BB project was effectively terminated.

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"You are totally unbelievable Booth! You sleep with other women, hell you even had a child with one of them, and now you won't give me a divorce?!" Brennan was yelling now, face red, right up in Booth's personal space, trying to intimidate him. Even in the grip of blind anger she knew it was futile. He had never been intimidated by her.

Booth raised his voice to match hers. "Like you haven't been unfaithful? At least I'm honest about who I'm sleeping with, unlike some people."

"Don't be a hypocrite. You didn't tell me you were fucking Camille."

"I had no obligation to tell anyone about that," he replied coolly.

"Oh really? Have you forgotten your marriage vows already? 'You will love, comfort, honour and protect your partner and be faithful to them as long as you both shall live'."

"Don't be cynical Temperance," he replied a little wearily. "You're the one who didn't want anyone know our little secret."

"So? It would have been unprofessional," she said.

He sighed. "Work. That's what it always comes down to with you. Even at college you couldn't let up for a second."

Brennan was back on the defensive. "I wanted to get my degree."

Booth just shook his head. "No, Temperance, you just didn't want to remember the past."

He visibly saw her stiffen and regretted his comment. On autopilot he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her midriff. Brennan softened for a moment and then yanked herself away from him, walls back in place.

"I will get this divorce, even if I have to go to court for it." She marched to the door and wrenched it open. "Now go. I've got work to do."

Booth sighed, but made his way to the door, knowing that there was no point in arguing with her. "Bring the papers over to my apartment tonight. We can talk about it then without the rest of the Jeffersonian listening in."

She nodded, and then inhaled sharply as he ran the pad of his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear that she didn't even remember shedding. She sank down against the wall, knees drawn up to her chest, her throat constricted with unshed tears. Why does it have to be this hard? She asked herself. Then placing her head on her knees, she silently cried the tears she had been withholding for almost half her life.

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Booth sat in his black truck, gripping the steering wheel, tears leaking from his eyes. This was fucking unbelievable, completely out of the blue. He hadn't even wanted to separate in the first place, and now here they were 14 years down the track and Temperance wanted a divorce. He could see the logic; they hadn't even lived together for the past 12. Blindly, he watched a car almost identical to his sweep into the car park. The driver's door opened and Sully hopped out. Booth growled and swiped the tears angrily from his face as Sully strode towards the entrance of the lab. There was no way Bones was getting a divorce; she didn't belong to anyone but him.

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As Camille and Sully chatted together over the examination table, they were unaware of the fact that five of their colleagues were attempting to work out the afternoon in a state of mental exhaustion. Their state of blissful ignorance wasn't going to last long; whether they liked it or not, the pair were about to be drawn into the already convoluted state of affairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. Right a few notes. I have no idea how old Booth and Brennan are, but I'm assuming mid 30ies ish. Here's the next chapter in "Legalities". Hopefully this will explain away some of the confusion that the first chapter caused! The italics are a memory. There will be a few more further on in the story so keep that lil fact in your memories! So with out further ado, and please remember to review, here you go.**

Having cooked himself dinner, Booth sat down at his kitchen table with his hand wrapped around a mug of coffee in an effort to collect his thoughts before Brennan arrived. Santana streamed from the CD player and as Carlos began another stand out guitar solo, Booth couldn't help but recall the night that he and Brennan had danced to "Hot Blooded" in her living room. His recollection was interrupted by a hesitant knock at the door.

"Hey Bones," he greeted her as he pulled open door.

"Booth," she said quietly.

He led her back to the table, noticing the large white envelope that she carried in her hand - the divorce papers.

She broke the silence. "You said you wanted to talk about this."

He snorted. Trust Temperance to state the obvious. "You didn't think I'd just sign the papers when you jumped on me this afternoon, did you?"

"No…" To be honest she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to get him to sign them at all. "You know, this would be so much easier for both of us if you just signed them."

"And we both know that I'm not going to do that."

His insight into her thoughts angered her, and Brennan couldn't help biting back. "I still don't understand why the hell not. You have no claim over me."

"Actually Bones," he smirked, "I do have a claim on you. I'm married to you remember?"

"Honestly Booth, you and your alpha male domination are what created all our problems in the first place!" she hissed back at him.

"Actually I think it was you when you were all over Michael Stires," Booth growled.

"I was not all over him!" she yelled back. "We were just talking."

"Oh yeah? You seemed to progress from just talking to just fucking pretty damn quick after you left me," said Booth sarcastically.

"What about you and that dumb blonde doing pre-med?" she shot back.

"So, tit-for-tat, Bones. We're partners, remember."

Brennan exhaled angrily, and found that they were standing in the middle of Booth's kitchen, in each other's airspace. She tried eyeballing Booth, willing him to back down, but all she ended up doing was getting cause in the well of emotion that was so evident in his eyes. A lump rose in her throat, and she looked away.

"How did we end up like this?" Booth's voice was raspy with emotion. "We were so happy…" his voice broke as the unhappy pair cast their memories back 16 years.

_Booth and Brennan met in high school. Or it would be more accurate to say that they had heard of each other in high school – they didn't socialise because Booth was a jock and Brennan was a nerd. _

_She was the know-it-all who sat up front in science class and knew more than the teachers. She was the girl that everyone knew not to mess with on account of her brother. She was the girl who spent the last three years of high school in foster home._

_He was the guy who sat who swung on his chair at the back of science class. He was the guy who was captain of the football team. He was the guy whose dad wanted him to be in the army but he wanted to go to college._

_It wouldn't be fair to say that they didn't notice each other. Brennan didn't go to football games because she liked football – she went because Russ encouraged her to or that was the reason she told herself. Really it was because she liked the eye candy, and there was one particularly sweet morsel that she preferred above all others. Booth didn't pay attention in science class just because he wanted to go to college, it was hilarious listening to Temperance, with her smoky bedroom voice, picking holes in the teacher's knowledge._

_Nothing happened until college. By chance they had both ended up at the same college. While Temperance chose to dedicate herself to the field of anthropology, Seeley surprised everyone by majoring in art history. In attempt to broaden his field of interest, he decided to take an anthropology paper. It was there that the story really began. It was a small enough class to allow the professor to assign pair study groups. Due to the fact that Brennan, Temperance followed Booth, Seeley on the class roll, the pair ended up together._

_It was a difficult partnership to begin with and one that the professor couldn't help but observe a little gleefully as they bickered on their way to and from class. Temperance was so used to be the dominant person in relationships that it took her a while to get used to Booth's desire to watch her back. It took even longer for her to learn to respect him. The high school stereotype of the brainless jock didn't fit him. He had a thirst for knowledge that, although different to hers, surprised her. On the other hand, Booth had respect for Temperance's knowledge from the off, but little respect for her as a person. She was actually interesting to talk to. _

_Booth went through a series of girlfriends throughout the duration of the paper. While he said none of them were serious, Brennan wondered if the girls had the same opinion on the relationship. All the girls had one thing in common – they were jealous of Temperance. She lost track of how many times she heard him tell them that he and Tempe were "just friends"._

_At some point, during the long hours of study before exams, they fell asleep together on Temperance's bed where they had been going through Temperance's teetering stack of notes. When they awoke Temperance's head had been on Booth's chest and his arm wrapped firmly around her middle. To his surprise, she didn't pull away and he felt brave enough to draw pictures on her abdomen with his index finger. Seeley shut his eyes and stopped when he felt the smoothness of her pale Madonna skin doing strange things to him. When he opened his eyes, he found Tempe's face above his with an expression of mock displeasure across it. Without any second guessing, he gently reached up to touch his lips to hers. She didn't pull away but deepened the kiss, breaking the kiss only when he groaned, a mischievous smile on her smile._

_They were married a year later._

_They separated a year after that when Temperance moved out of their apartment. Booth took a more extreme approach – he joined the army._

Booth broke the silence. "Why did you leave?"

The comfortable, companionable atmosphere disappeared, replaced by hostility. "Do we have to discuss this now?" Brennan asked.

"Tempe, there's never gonna be a right time to talk about this, and considering you want a divorce, I want the full story before we go our separate ways."

Temperance ground her teeth. Why did he have to be so goddamn logical all of a sudden? "Fine," she snapped. "But you asked for it, Seeley."

"Well, you remember Michael Stires?" Temperance began and was stopped by an almost primal growl from the other side of the kitchen. "Okay, you obviously do." She continued. "You'll also remember how he tried to make a pass at me. When you suggested that I reciprocated his feelings I was so angry at you. I couldn't believe that you couldn't trust me enough to allow me to talk to my professor without having to establish yourself as the alpha male in our relationship. That night when you got so drunk that you broke his nose and then dragged me out of that bar, I was so humiliated by it all. I wanted to talk about what had happened but in the middle of accusing me of being a whore, you passed out. I packed my stuff and left." She was crying now. "Seeley, Michael was only ever a mentor to me. He had so much experience in our field and I was just curious. I would never have been unfaithful to you. I loved you too much to do that."

Blinded by tears, she groped for her bag under the kitchen table, and then made for the door. It slammed with a ring of finality behind her. Satana played on, oblivious, while Booth sank to the floor, his back to the fridge, and face in his hands, consumed with guilt.


End file.
